A groundbreaking study published in The Lancet, involving 500 researchers from 300 institutions—including Emanuele Di Angelantonio from the University of Cambridge—analyzes data from 239 global studies (1970-2015) on nearly 4 million adults across four continents. The findings are clear: obesity significantly raises the risk of premature death and contributes to numerous diseases.
Lead author Emanuele Di Angelantonio explains that overweight and obesity elevate risks for coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory conditions, and cancer. On average, overweight individuals lose about one year of life expectancy, those with moderate obesity lose three years, and people with severe obesity lose around 10 years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 1.3 billion overweight adults worldwide and 600 million obese adults—a doubling since the 1980s—equating to 39% overweight and 13% obese. This study shows the impact is three times greater in men. Using BMI (body mass index: weight in kg divided by height in meters squared), the risk of dying before age 70 is 19% for men and 11% for women with normal BMI, rising to 29.5% for men and 14.6% for women with moderate obesity (BMI 30-34.9).
This comprehensive research underscores obesity as a critical public health crisis demanding urgent attention from scientists and policymakers.
